XXIII. "Take then the hand thou seekest; be it thine,
The plighted pact; and when to-morrow's ray
Shall chase the shadows, and the dawn shall shine,
Aid will I give you, and due stores purvey,
And send you hence rejoicing on your way.
Meanwhile, since Heaven forbids us to postpone
These yearly rites, and we are friends, be gay
And share with us the banquet. Sit ye down,—		199
Behold, the boards are spread,—and make the feast your own."
XXIV. He spake, and back, at his command, they bring
The food and wine. The chiefs, in order meet,
Along the grass he ranges, and their king
Leads to his throne; of maple was the seat;
A lion's hide lay bristling at his feet.
Youths and the altar's minister bring wine,
And heap the bread, and serve the roasted meat.
On lustral entrails and the bull's whole chine,		208
Couched round the Trojan king, the Trojan warriors dine.
XXV. Then, when at last desire of food had ceased,
Thus spake Evander: "Lo, this solemn show,
This sacred altar, and this ordered feast,
No idle witchwork are they. Well we know
The ancient gods. Saved from a fearful foe,
Each year the deed we celebrate. See there
Yon nodding crag; behold the rocks below,
Tost in huge ruin, and the lonely lair,		217
Scooped from the mountain's side, how wild the waste and bare!
XXVI. "There yawned the cavern, in the rock's dark womb,
Wherein the monster Cacus dwelt of yore,
Half-human. Never sunlight pierced the gloom;
But day by day the rank earth reeked with gore,
And human faces, nailed above the door,
Hung, foul and ghastly. From the loins he came
Of Vulcan, and his huge mouth evermore
Spewed forth a torrent of Vulcanian flame;		226
Proudly he stalked the earth, and shook the world's fair frame.

XXVII. "But time, in answer to our prayers, one day
Brought aid,—a God to help us in our need.
Flushed with the death of [Geryon,] came this way
[Alcides,] glorying in the victor's meed,
And hither drove his mighty bulls to feed.
These, pasturing in the valley, from his lair
Fierce Cacus saw, and, scorning in his greed
To leave undone what crime or craft could dare,		235
Four beauteous heifers stole, four oxen sleek and fair.
XXVIII. "Then, lest their footprints should the track declare,
Back by their tails he dragged the captured kine,
With hoofs reversed, and shut them in his lair,
And whoso sought the cavern found no sign.
But when at last Amphitryon's son divine,
His feasted herds, preparing to remove,
Called from their pastures, and in long-drawn line,
With plaintive lowing, the departing drove		244
Trooped from the echoing hills, and clamours filled the grove,

XXIX. "One of the heifers from the cave again
Lowed back, in answer to the sound, and broke
The hopes of Cacus, and his theft was plain.
Black choler in Alcides' breast awoke.
Grasping his arms and club of knotted oak,
Straight to the sky-capt Aventine he hies,
And scales the steep. Then, not till then, our folk
Saw Cacus tremble. To the cave he flies,		253
Wing'd like the wind with fear, and terror in his eyes.
XXX. "Scarce in, the rock he loosened with a blow,
Slung high in iron by his father's care,
And with the barrier blocked the door; when lo,
With heart aflame, great Hercules was there,
And searched each way for access to his lair,
Grinding his teeth. Thrice round the mount he threw
His vengeful eyes, thrice strove from earth to tear
The stone, and storm the threshold, thrice withdrew,		262
And in the vale sat down, and nursed his wrath anew.